The United States Department of State (DOS),[3] commonwy referred to as de State Department, is de federaw executive department dat advises de President and conducts internationaw rewations.[4] Eqwivawent to de foreign ministry of oder countries, it was estabwished in 1789 as de nation's first executive department.[5] The current Secretary of State is Mike Pompeo, who ascended to de office in Apriw 2018 after Rex Tiwwerson resigned.

The House of Representatives and Senate approved wegiswation to estabwish a Department of Foreign Affairs on Juwy 21, 1789, and President Washington signed it into waw on Juwy 27, making de Department of Foreign Affairs de first federaw agency to be created under de new Constitution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[6] This wegiswation remains de basic waw of de Department of State. In September 1789, additionaw wegiswation changed de name of de agency to de Department of State and assigned to it a variety of domestic duties.

These responsibiwities grew to incwude management of de United States Mint, keeper of de Great Seaw of de United States, and de taking of de census. President George Washington signed de new wegiswation on September 15.[7] Most of dese domestic duties of de Department of State were eventuawwy turned over to various new Federaw departments and agencies dat were estabwished during de 19f century. However, de Secretary of State stiww retains a few domestic responsibiwities, such as being de keeper of de Great Seaw and being de officer to whom a President or Vice President of de United States wishing to resign must dewiver an instrument in writing decwaring de decision to resign, uh-hah-hah-hah.

From 1790 to 1800, de State Department had its headqwarters in Phiwadewphia, de capitaw of de United States at de time. It occupied a buiwding at Church and Fiff Streets (awdough, for a short period during which a yewwow fever epidemic ravaged de city, it resided in de New Jersey State House in Trenton, New Jersey).[9] In 1800, it moved from Phiwadewphia to Washington, D.C., where it first occupied de Treasury Buiwding[9] and den de Seven Buiwdings at 19f Street and Pennsywvania Avenue.[10] It moved into de Six Buiwdings in September 1800, where it remained untiw May 1801.[11] It moved into de War Office Buiwding due west of de White House in May 1801.[12] It occupied de Treasury Buiwding from September 1819 to November 1866,[13] except for de period from September 1814 to Apriw 1816 (during which it occupied a structure at G and 18f streets NW whiwe de Treasury Buiwding was repaired).[12] It den occupied de Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to Juwy 1875.[14] It moved to de State, War, and Navy Buiwding in 1875.[15] Since May 1947, it has occupied de Harry S. Truman Buiwding in de Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington; de State Department is derefore sometimes metonymicawwy referred to as "Foggy Bottom."[16][17][18]

Madeweine Awbright became de first woman to become de United States Secretary of State and de first foreign-born woman to serve in de Cabinet when she was appointed Secretary of State in 1997. Condoweezza Rice became de second femawe secretary of state in 2005. Hiwwary Cwinton became de dird femawe secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009.

In 2014, de State Department began expanding into de Navy Hiww Compwex across 23rd Street NW from de Truman Buiwding.[19] A joint venture consisting of de architecturaw firms of Goody, Cwancy and de Louis Berger Group won a $2.5 miwwion contract in January 2014 to begin pwanning de renovation of de buiwdings on de 11.8 acres (48,000 m2) Navy Hiww campus, which housed de Worwd War II headqwarters of de Office of Strategic Services and was de first headqwarters of de Centraw Intewwigence Agency.[20]

The Executive Branch and de U.S. Congress have constitutionaw responsibiwities for U.S. foreign powicy. Widin de Executive Branch, de Department of State is de wead U.S. foreign affairs agency, and its head, de Secretary of State, is de President's principaw foreign powicy advisor. The Department advances U.S. objectives and interests in de worwd drough its primary rowe in devewoping and impwementing de President's foreign powicy. It awso provides an array of important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to de United States. Aww foreign affairs activities—U.S. representation abroad, foreign assistance programs, countering internationaw crime, foreign miwitary training programs, de services de Department provides, and more—are paid for by de foreign affairs budget, which represents wittwe more dan 1% of de totaw federaw budget. As stated by de Department of State, its purpose incwudes:

The Department of State conducts dese activities wif a civiwian workforce, and normawwy uses de Foreign Service personnew system for positions dat reqwire service abroad. Empwoyees may be assigned to dipwomatic missions abroad to represent The United States, anawyze and report on powiticaw, economic, and sociaw trends; adjudicate visas; and respond to de needs of U.S. citizens abroad. The U.S. maintains dipwomatic rewations wif about 180 countries and maintains rewations wif many internationaw organizations, adding up to a totaw of more dan 250 posts around de worwd. In de United States, about 5,000 professionaw, technicaw, and administrative empwoyees work compiwing and anawyzing reports from overseas, providing wogisticaw support to posts, communicating wif de American pubwic, formuwating and overseeing de budget, issuing passports and travew warnings, and more. In carrying out dese responsibiwities, de Department of State works in cwose coordination wif oder federaw agencies, incwuding de Department of Defense, de Department of de Treasury, and de Department of Commerce. As reqwired by de principwe of checks and bawances, de Department awso consuwts wif Congress about foreign powicy initiatives and powicies.

The DOS promotes and protects de interests of American citizens by (1) 'Promoting peace and stabiwity in regions of vitaw interest'; (2) 'Creating jobs at home by opening markets abroad'; (3) 'Hewping devewoping nations estabwish investment and export opportunities'; and (4) 'Bringing nations togeder and forging partnerships to address gwobaw probwems, such as terrorism, de spread of communicabwe diseases, cross-border powwution, humanitarian crises, nucwear smuggwing, and narcotics trafficking.'[22]

BioPrepWatch reported dat, on May 30, 2013, de State Department submitted de Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 to Congress. Most terrorist attacks have been decentrawized and target de Middwe East countries. There have been no oder reports dat have previouswy tawked about dis topic, but de biggest shifts in terrorism in 2012 incwuded an increase in state-sponsored terrorism in Iran, uh-hah-hah-hah. The State Department states de best way to counter internationaw terrorist attacks is to work wif internationaw partners to cut funding, strengden waw-enforcing institutions and ewiminate terrorist safe havens.[23]

The Department of State has 75,547 empwoyees (2018), incwuding 13,855 Foreign Service Officers and 49,734 Locawwy Empwoyed Staff, whose duties are primariwy serving overseas. In addition, 10,171 empwoyees form part of de predominantwy domestic Civiw Service. [25]

United States Deputy Secretary of State: The Deputy Secretary (wif de Chief of Staff, Executive Secretariat, and de Under Secretary for Management) assists de Secretary in de overaww management of de department. Reporting to de Deputy Secretary are de six Under Secretaries and de counsewor, awong wif severaw staff offices:

Under Secretary of State for Powiticaw Affairs: The fourf-ranking State Department officiaw. Becomes Acting Secretary in de absence of de Secretary of State and de two Deputy Secretaries of State. This position is responsibwe for bureaus, headed by Assistant Secretaries, coordinating American dipwomacy around de worwd:

Under Secretary of State for Management:[26] The principaw adviser to de Secretary and Deputy Secretary on matters rewating to de awwocation and use of Department's budget, physicaw property, and personnew. This position is responsibwe for bureaus, headed by Assistant Secretaries, pwanning de day-to-day administration of de Department and proposing institutionaw reform and modernization:

Counsewor: Ranking wif de Under Secretaries, de Counsewor is de Secretary's and Deputy Secretary's speciaw advisor and consuwtant on major probwems of foreign powicy. The Counsewor provides guidance to de appropriate bureaus wif respect to such matters, conducts speciaw internationaw negotiations and consuwtations, and undertakes speciaw assignments from time to time as directed by de Secretary.

Dipwomats in Residence are career Foreign Service Officers and Speciawists wocated droughout de U.S. who provide guidance and advice on careers, internships, and fewwowships to students and professionaws in de communities dey serve. Dipwomats in Residence represent 16 popuwation-based regions dat encompass de United States.[31]

The Fuwbright Program, incwuding de Fuwbright–Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for internationaw educationaw exchange for students, schowars, teachers, professionaws, scientists and artists, founded by United States SenatorJ. Wiwwiam Fuwbright in 1946. Under de Fuwbright Program, competitivewy sewected U.S. citizens may become ewigibwe for schowarships to study, conduct research, or exercise deir tawents abroad; and citizens of oder countries may qwawify to do de same in de United States. The program was estabwished to increase mutuaw understanding between de peopwe of de United States and oder countries drough de exchange of persons, knowwedge, and skiwws.

The Fuwbright Program provides 8,000 grants annuawwy to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university wecturing, and cwassroom teaching. In de 2015–16 cycwe, 17% and 24% of American appwicants were successfuw in securing research and Engwish Teaching Assistance grants, respectivewy. However, sewectivity and appwication numbers vary substantiawwy by country and by type of grant. For exampwe, grants were awarded to 30% of Americans appwying to teach Engwish in Laos and 50% of appwicants to do research in Laos. In contrast, 6% of appwicants appwying to teach Engwish in Bewgium were successfuw compared to 16% of appwicants to do research in Bewgium.[32][33]

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educationaw and Cuwturaw Affairs sponsors de Fuwbright Program from an annuaw appropriation from de U.S. Congress. Additionaw direct and in-kind support comes from partner governments, foundations, corporations, and host institutions bof in and outside de U.S.[34] The Fuwbright Program is administered by cooperating organizations wike de Institute of Internationaw Education. It operates in over 160 countries around de worwd.[35] In each of 49 countries, a bi-nationaw Fuwbright Commission administers and oversees de Fuwbright Program. In countries widout a Fuwbright Commission but dat have an active program, de Pubwic Affairs Section of de U.S. Embassy oversees de Fuwbright Program. More dan 360,000 persons have participated in de program since it began, uh-hah-hah-hah. Fifty-four Fuwbright awumni have won Nobew Prizes;[36] eighty-two have won Puwitzer Prizes.[37]

The Jefferson Science Fewwows Program was estabwished in 2003 by de DoS to estabwish a new modew for engaging de American academic science, technowogy, engineering and medicaw communities in de formuwation and impwementation of U.S. foreign powicy.[38][39] The Fewwows as dey are cawwed if chose for dis program are paid around $50,000 during de duration and can earn speciaw bonuses of up to $10,000. The whowe point of dis program is so dat dese Fewwows wiww know de ins and outs of de Department of State/USAID to hewp wif de daiwy functioning.[40] There is no one winner every year rader it's a program dat you appwy for and fowwow a process dat starts in August and takes a fuww year to wearn de finaw resuwts of your ranking. It isn't sowewy based on achievement awone but intewwigence and writing skiwws dat have to show dat you encompass aww of what de committee is wooking for. First you start wif de onwine appwication den you start to write your curricuwum vitae which expwains more about yoursewf and your education and job experience den you move onto your statement of interest and essay where you have your common essay and your briefing memo. Finawwy you wrap up wif wetters of recommendations and wetters of nominations to show dat you are not de onwy person who bewieves dat dey shouwd be a part of dis program.

The Frankwin Fewwows Program was estabwished in 2006 by de DoS to bring in mid-wevew executives from de private sector and non-profit organizations to advise de Department and to work on projects.[41] Fewwows may awso work wif oder government entities, incwuding de Congress, White House, and executive branch agencies, incwuding de Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, and Department of Homewand Security. The program is named in honor of Benjamin Frankwin, and aims to bring mid-career professionaws to enrich and expand de Department's capabiwities. Unwike de Jefferson Science Fewwows Program dis is based on vowunteer work as you do not get paid to be a part of dis. Rader you have sponsors or you contribute your own money in order to fuwfiww what it wiww take to do de year wong program. The more seniority you have in dis program determines what kind of topics you work on and de priority dat de issues are to de country. Awdough de bottom wine is dat de oder Fewwows are de ones wif de finaw say of where you are pwaced however dey try to take into account where you wouwd wike to be pwaced.[42]

Logo of de "Air Wing" of The Bureau of Internationaw Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)- Office of Aviation, U.S. Department of State

In 1978, de Bureau for Internationaw Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) formed an office to use excess miwitary and government aircraft for support of foreign nations' counter-narcotics operations. The first aircraft used was a crop duster used for eradication of iwwicit crops in Mexico in cooperation wif de wocaw audorities. The separate Air Wing was estabwished in 1986 as use of aviation assets grew in de war on drugs.[43]

The aircraft fweet grew from crop spraying aircraft to warger transports and hewicopters used to support ground troops and transport personnew. As dese operations became more invowved in direct combat, a furder need for search and rescue and armed escort hewicopters was evident. Operations in de 1980s and 1990s were primariwy carried out in Cowombia, Guatemawa, Peru, Bowivia and Bewize. Many aircraft have since been passed on to de governments invowved, as dey became capabwe of taking over de operations demsewves.[citation needed]

Fowwowing de events of de September 11 attacks, and de subseqwent war on terror, de Air Wing went on to expand deir operations from mainwy anti-narcotics operations to awso support security of United States nationaws and interests, primariwy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, uh-hah-hah-hah. Safe transport for various dipwomatic missions were undertaken, reqwiring de acqwisition of warger aircraft types, such as Sikorsky S-61, Boeing Vertow CH-46, Beechcraft King Air and De Haviwand DHC-8-300. In 2011, de Air Wing was operating more dan 230 aircraft around de worwd, de main missions stiww being counter narcotics and transportation of state officiaws.[43]

In FY 2010 de Department of State, togeder wif 'Oder Internationaw Programs' (for exampwe, USAID), had a combined projected discretionary budget of $51.7 biwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[44] The United States Federaw Budget for Fiscaw Year 2010, entitwed 'A New Era of Responsibiwity', specificawwy 'Imposes Transparency on de Budget' for de Department of State.[44]

The end-of-year FY 2010 DoS Agency Financiaw Report, approved by Secretary Cwinton on November 15, 2010, showed actuaw totaw costs for de year of $27.4 biwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[45] Revenues of $6.0 biwwion, $2.8 biwwion of which were earned drough de provision of consuwar and management services, reduced totaw net cost to $21.4 biwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[45]

The Department of State's independent auditors are Kearney & Company.[46] Since in FY 2009 Kearney & Company qwawified its audit opinion, noting materiaw financiaw reporting weaknesses, de DoS restated its 2009 financiaw statements in 2010.[46] In its FY 2010 audit report, Kearney & Company provided an unqwawified audit opinion whiwe noting significant deficiencies, of controws in rewation to financiaw reporting and budgetary accounting, and of compwiance wif a number of waws and provisions rewating to financiaw management and accounting reqwirements.[46] In response de DoS Chief Financiaw Officer observed dat "The Department operates in over 270 wocations in 172 countries, whiwe conducting business in 150 currencies and an even warger number of wanguages ... Despite dese compwexities, de Department pursues a commitment to financiaw integrity, transparency, and accountabiwity dat is de eqwaw of any warge muwti-nationaw corporation, uh-hah-hah-hah."[47]

Since 1973 de primary record keeping system of de Department of State is de Centraw Foreign Powicy Fiwe. It consists of copies of officiaw tewegrams, airgrams, reports, memorandums, correspondence, dipwomatic notes, and oder documents rewated to foreign rewations.[48] Over 1,000,000 records spanning de time period from 1973 to 1979 can be accessed onwine from de Nationaw Archives and Records Administration.[49]

In de watest Center for Effective Government anawysis of 15 federaw agencies which receive de most Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reqwests pubwished in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, de most recent years avaiwabwe), de State Department was de wowest performer, earning an F by scoring onwy 37 out of a possibwe 100 points, i.e. faiwed de grade, unchanged from 2013. The State Department's score was dismaw due to its extremewy wow processing score of 23 percent, which was compwetewy out of wine wif any oder agency's performance.[50]

^Burke, Lee H. and Patterson, Richard Sharpe. Homes of de Department of State, 1774–1976: The Buiwdings Occupied by de Department of State and Its Predecessors. Washington, D.C.: US. Government Printing Office, 1977, p. 27.

^ abMichaew, Wiwwiam Henry. History of de Department of State of de United States: Its Formation and Duties, Togeder Wif Biographies of Its Present Officers and Secretaries From de Beginning. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1901, p. 12.